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GSMA: Every new car will be a 'connected car' in 2025

More than 50 percent of new cars sold during 2015 will offer wireless connectivity either by embedded, tethered or smartphone integration, and that percentage will grow to include all or nearly all new cars sold in 2025, according to a report issued by the GSMA and conducted by research firm SBD.

There will be considerable momentum in the number of new cars equipped with factory-fitted mobile connectivity, with SBD forecasting that nearly 36 million new cars will be shipped globally with embedded telematics by 2018--that is 31 percent of all cars expected to ship that year. More than 20 percent of vehicles sold worldwide in 2015 will include embedded connectivity solutions, according to the report.

An embedded solution is defined as a system, such as BMW ConnectedDrive and GM OnStar, in which both the connectivity and the intelligence are embedded into the car.

"The growth in embedded connectivity is likely to be fueled in part by regulations in the European Union and Russia making it mandatory for new vehicles to ship with systems that are able to automatically alert emergency services in the event of an accident," said the report. In addition, a Brazilian regulation stipulating that new vehicles be equipped with stolen vehicle tracking systems for remote tracking will also boost sales of cars with embedded connectivity.

However, SBD and GSMA offered up a caveat, noting the forecasts could change because "regulatory mandates related to connected cars have already experienced significant delays, and may be delayed further due to political or technical difficulties."

Safety and security applications, such as the European-mandated eCall system, will be the most common services supported by connected cars, shipping in 41.7 million vehicles during 2018, up from 7 million in 2012, forecasts SBD.

"Fueled in part by growth in the deployment of smartphone integration systems, SBD predicts in-car infotainment services, such as news, weather, social networking and music streaming, will be very popular, supported by 32.1 million cars sold in 2018 compared with 4.3 million in 2012," said the report.

SBD and GSMA predict the global connected car market will be worth nearly $53.4 billion in 2018, up from $17 billion in 2012.

Source: GSMA mAutomotive

The GSMA noted its Connected Car Forum (CCF) serves as a platform for information sharing between the automotive sector and mobile network operators and and is aimed at fostering activities that may not be possible through existing bilateral business discussions in a timely manner.

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